Looking Ahead to 2026
Tom Tack, senior director of RISE at the ACR, shared some of the feedback the ACR gave CMS regarding proposed changes for MIPS and MVPs in 2026. Although there were no significant changes for the traditional MIPS program, there were several changes proposed for the rheumatology MVP, such as adding hepatitis B screening (ACR10) and tracking rheumatoid arthritis patients with low disease activity/remission (ACR16).
CMS leaders also proposed adding core data elements to each MVP by the 2027 payment year, which the ACR stated it was against because it potentially reduces the ability of each practice to report on those individual measures. CMS leaders also proposed adding well-being and nutrition, which the ACR commended as an important step toward disease prevention, but added that patient-reported outcomes are hard to collect and not usually captured in the EMR.
The upcoming year will bring the launch of a new vendor for RISE. The updated registry will go beyond a new look and feel, Mr. Tack said. This will include alerts to make quick changes, identifying specific patients for intervention, a better focus on quality improvement, and patient- and practice-level data. Practice leaders also will have access to their performance against all 25-plus measures in the dashboard.
“The intent is that RISE becomes a strategic partner to advocate change and deliver better care,” he said.
During the session, Puneet Bajaj, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and member of the Division of Rheumatic Diseases at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, also shared his perspective on the current and future state of RISE and opportunities for engagement. He spoke to the need for more academic medical center participation, which will be easier to do via RISE in the upcoming year.
Vanessa Caceres is a medical writer in Bradenton, Fla.
